Member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
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The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is an international alliance that consists of 9 member states and 4 observers from Eurasia. It was established on 26 April 1996 as the Shanghai Five. In addition to the 9 member states and 3 observers, the SCO currently has 9 dialogue partners and 4 guest attendance entries.
Member states
Military personnel
The following list is sourced from the 2018 edition of "The Military Balance" published annually by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
| Flag | Country | Active military | Reserve military | Paramilitary | Total | Per 1000 capita (total) |
Per 1000 capita (active) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
China[6] | 2,035,000 | 510,000 | 1,500,000 | 4,045,000 | 2.9 | 1.5 |
|
India[7] | 1,440,000 | 2,096,000 | 1,585,950 | 5,121,950 | 4 | 1.1 |
|
Kazakhstan[8] | 39,000 | 0 | 31,500 | 70,500 | 3.8 | 2.1 |
|
Kyrgyzstan[9] | 10,900 | 0 | 9,500 | 20,400 | 3.5 | 1.9 |
|
Pakistan[10] | 653,000 | 0 | 0 | 653,000 | 3.1 | 3.1 |
|
Russian Federation[11][Note 1] | 1,013,628 | 2,572,500 | 2,310,859 | 5,896,987 | 41.5 | 7.1 |
|
Tajikistan[12] | 8,800 | 0 | 7,500 | 16,300 | 1.9 | 1 |
|
Uzbekistan[13] | 48,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 68,000 | 2.3 | 1.6 |
- Notes
- ^ The potential reserve personnel of Russia may be as high as 20 million, depending on how the figures are counted. However, an est. 2 million have seen military service within the last 5 years.
Observer states
| Flag | Country |
Capital |
Area (km2) |
Population (2016) |
Density (/km2) |
GDP per cap. (PPP)[1] |
HDI[2] | Currency |
Official languages | Leaders | Status gained |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Mongolia | Ulaanbaatar | 1,564,115 | 3,067,550 | 1.75 | 11,919 | 0.727 | Mongolian tögrög (₮) (MNT) |
Mongolian | Head of State: Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh Head of Government: Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene |
2004-06-17 |
 |
Afghanistan[14] | Kabul | 652,230 | 27,101,365 | 43.5 | 1,944 | 0.465 | Afghan afghani (Af) (AFN) |
Pashto Dari |
De facto head of state: Hibatullah Akhundzada De facto head of government: Abdul Kabir |
2012-06-07 |
 |
Belarus Republic of Belarus |
Minsk | 207,595 | 9,498,700 | 45.8 | 18,246 | 0.798 | Belarusian rubel (Rbl) (BYR) |
Belarusian Russian |
Head of State: Alexander Lukashenko Head of Government: Roman Golovchenko |
2015 |
Dialogue partner entries
Future participation
The following countries have applied for a position in the organization:
| Flag | Country |
Capital |
Area (km2) |
Population (2016) |
Density (/km2) |
GDP per cap. (PPP)[1] |
HDI[2] | Currency |
Official languages | Leaders | Status applied for | Year applied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
East Timor Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste |
Dili | 14,874 | 1,340,513 | 78 | 3,637 | 0.607 | United States dollar (USD) | Portuguese Tetum |
Head of State and Government: José Ramos-Horta | Observer | 2012[17] |
 |
Bangladesh People's Republic of Bangladesh |
Dhaka | 148,460 | 169,828,911 | 1,305 | 2,470 | 0.661 | Bangladeshi taka (BDT) | Bengali | Head of State and Government: Mohammed Shahabuddin | Observer | 2012[18] |
 |
Syria Syrian Arab Republic |
Damascus | 185,180 | 22,933,531 | 118.3 | 2,900 | 0.577 | Syrian pound (SYP) | Arabic | Head of State and Government: Bashar al-Assad | Dialogue Partner | 2015[c][19] |
In 2012, Ukraine expressed interest in obtaining observer status. However, since the deposition of President Viktor Yanukovych and increased tensions with Russia, no application has been submitted and there are no current plans to incorporate Ukraine into the organization.[20][21]
In 2011, Vietnam expressed interest in obtaining observer or dialogue partner status. However, it is unknown whether or not, Vietnam has submitted an application.[22]
Guest attendance entries
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
- Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
- Turkmenistan
- United Nations
Notes
- ^ The sovereignty of China is disputed. Since the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War, the Republic of China (ROC), which was formally established on 1 January 1912 following the Xinhai Revolution, which succeeded the former Qing dynasty's territories on mainland China, while the islands of Taiwan and Penghu were under Japanese rule at the time. The ROC gained control over the latter after the surrender of Japan in 1945, but soon lost its control of mainland to the communists due to the Chinese Civil War. The ROC government was relocated to Taipei in 7th December 1949 as its provisional capital and retains actual rule over the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, the Matsu, and other minor islands, all of which are collectively known as "Free Area" or Taiwan Area in contrast to Mainland China being under communist rule, thus making it a de facto island nation, and has become known colloquially as simply "Taiwan" due to the island of Taiwan forming the majority of the ROC-controlled territories; nonetheless, the ROC has not officially renounced its constitutional-defined territories which include areas effectively controlled by the People's Republic of China, Mongolia, Tuva (a Russian republic) etc. If claimed territories were taken into account, the ROC would not be a borderless country, nor a country centred around a major island. The ROC-controlled territories are also claimed by the People's Republic of China. Constitutionally, the ROC on Taiwan still views itself as the continuation of former Chinese republic, with legitimate sovereignty over mainland China despite no actual control. See: Political status of Taiwan, Retreat of the Republic of China to Taiwan, Four-Stage Theory of the Republic of China, Two Chinas, One-China policy, and Cross-strait relations.
- ^ The actual area under PRC control is 9,596,960.
- ^ Syria has initially applied for observer status, but "it was explained that first it is necessary to become a dialogue partner of the organization".[19]
References
- ^ a b c d at purchasing power parity, per capita, in international dollars (rounded IMF 2012)
- ^ a b c d at Human Development Index (New 2013 Estimates for 2012)
- ^ a b Law of the People's Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language (Order of the President No.37)
- ^ a b Bhattacherjee, Kallol (9 June 2017). "India, Pakistan become full members of SCO". The Hindu. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ "Iran joins SCO, the China-founded regional security grouping". Al Arabiya English. 2023-07-04. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
- ^ IISS 2018, pp. 249-250
- ^ IISS 2018, pp. 260
- ^ IISS 2018, pp. 188
- ^ IISS 2018, pp. 190
- ^ IISS 2018, pp. 291
- ^ IISS 2018, pp. 192
- ^ IISS 2018, pp. 207
- ^ IISS 2018, pp. 214
- ^ Seiwert, Eva (30 September 2021). "The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Will Not Fill Any Vacuum in Afghanistan". Foreign Policy Research Institute. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
- ^ https://www.bna.bh/en/BahraingrantedthestatusofSCOdialoguepartner.aspx?cms=q8FmFJgiscL2fwIzON1%2BDlDCMEcGKMPY4rKOqGpdTL4%3D#:~:text=Shanghai%2C%20July%2015%20(BNA)%3A,People's%20Republic%20of%20China%20Dr.
- ^ http://eng.sectsco.org/politics/20230718/951659/The-SCO-signs-a-memorandum-on-granting-the-Kingdom-of-Bahrain-the-status-of-dialogue-partner.html
- ^ "Azerbaijan asks to join a new alliance of China and Russia".
- ^ |url=https://arab.news/5c83v
- ^ a b "Syria, Israel, Egypt willing to join SCO's activity – president's special envoy". Interfax. 23 June 2016. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- ^ "Yanukovych Tells Putin Kyiv Wants SCO Observer Status". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ^ Grigoryan, Gurgen (8 October 2012). "Why Ukraine wants to become SCO's partner". InfoSCO. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ^ Radyuhin, Vladimir (2 December 2011). "Vietnam bids to join SCO". The Hindu. Moscow. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
Bibliography
- International Institute for Strategic Studies (3 February 2010). The Military Balance 2010. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1857435573.
- International Institute for Strategic Studies (2 March 2011). The Military Balance 2011. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1857436068.
- International Institute for Strategic Studies (7 March 2012). The Military Balance 2012. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1857436426.
- International Institute for Strategic Studies (14 March 2013). The Military Balance 2013. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1857436808.
- International Institute for Strategic Studies (3 February 2014). The Military Balance 2014. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781857437225.
- International Institute for Strategic Studies (14 February 2018). The Military Balance 2018. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781857439557.
| Summits | |
|---|---|
| Member states | |
| Observer states | |
| Dialogue partners | |
| Guests | |
| Applicants | |
| See also | |
